help buying for my 12 yr old
 

my son is 12 yrs old with limited riding experience and wants a utility atv,i looked at a yamaha beer tracker....any opinions on this atv or any other suggestions would be apprieciated thanks

help buying for my 12 yr old
 

a couple of things to know before we can give you any help. first how tall is your son and how much does he weigh..second what kind of riding will be done with it. third will it be his or are you going to want to jump on it and go too.

help buying for my 12 yr old
 

My daughters 12 year old friends are just now starting to ride the 250 class bikes. They grew up on the 90's. Without much experience, you need to decide if he can step up to the bigger machines?

Another alternative is an "intermediate" bike like the Suzuki LT160. My daughter had one, but outgrew it real fast and went on to the Recon.

help buying for my 12 yr old
 

The beartracker was originally the timberwolf. It has been around for a long time so I guess it's some what reliable. It is heavy compared to other 250's and has an older style. If you're looking at the tracker then you should also look at the Recon and Ozark. The Recon has a few less cc's so it might be better for a 12 year old. The Recon is a good reliable quad. You may want to look into the 110's and 160's range. It would be a good idea to have your child take a safety course.

help buying for my 12 yr old
 

A Beartracker will be fine if he wants a utility atv. You should try to talk him into a sport machine, though, they're a lot of fun. I used to like utility atv's, but now I like the Sport ones. My current atv is a Yamaha Moto-4, and I like it a lot, but soon I would like to get a suzuki z250.



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1986 Yamaha Moto-4 225
2003 z400
Want a z250...

help buying for my 12 yr old
 

One of my sons is 13 years old, 5'10" and 145 lbs. My other son is 12 years old, 4'8 and 85 lbs. He is still waiting for that growth spurt to happen.

help buying for my 12 yr old
 

I think that the Honda 350 would be great for your son. You can get'em with ESP (electric thumb shift) and they are in 4WD all time so that he won't have to worry about getting stuck. And, the 4WD has limited slip so that it won't rip up you're lawn all that bad.
Honda also had $500CDN off any new Honda ATV. I'm fourteen, 5'11'' and weigh about 140lbs, mine's a 400cc 4x4 Eiger and I handle it great. I also beleive that on mine there is a throttle limiter. Just a tip if you're buying a new one, look for that feature.

help buying for my 12 yr old
 

yea look into a throttle limiter

help buying for my 12 yr old
 

hey - go with the beartracker! they are awesome an will be perfect for ur son(S). first of all they dont go very fast (35-40) and they do have a throttle limiter. we have a beartracker and it runs awesome. im 15 and this is our first four wheeler and there is plenty of power but not too much. if youve got any questions about the beartracker-ask me and ill be glad to answer them. this four wheeler also has enough power for u to drive it too.

ride yamaha!

help buying for my 12 yr old
 

At age 9, my son was bumping his knees on the handlebars of his LT80,so I got him a Honda Recon,he loved it,light,handled great,peppy motor,great mud protection. But after 2 years,he wanted more sport,so now he rides a 300 ex, the first ride out, he complained about the water and mud splash, but he knew giving up fenders means more mud on the face !! For a 12 yr old, the Recon, Ozark, and Beartracker are great. I haven't heard too much lately about the 200 Rally from Bombardier,it was a very fast,liquid cooled sport utitility that has great fender protection, and was the first to have the Spar frame technology that is now on the Outlander. If they are just starting out, getting them a 350 or bigger quad could be a little too much, the 250's go plenty fast already, and the lighter weight makes them a lot easier to handle on the trail.